- How the 14 Topics Are Organized
- What the Exam Looks Like and What Is Not Published
- Group One: Markets and Market Segments (Topics 1-7)
- Group Two: Sales Functions (Topics 8-14)
- Quick-Reference Table of All 14 Topics
- Sequencing Your Study Around the Domains
- Eligibility, Registration, and Renewal Mechanics
- Where the Domains Show Up on the Job
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CHSP organizes fourteen subordinate topics under two parent groups: Markets and market segments (7) and Sales functions (7).
- The fourteen headings are issuer-published competencies, not a weighted blueprint; no domain percentages have been published.
- The current product specifies 100 questions, a two-hour exam, a 70% passing score, and a required proctor.
- The official application, online study guide, and exam bundle is currently USD $398; renewal is USD $102 every five years.
How the 14 Topics Are Organized
The Certified Hospitality Sales Professional (CHSP) credential, administered by AHLEI as an AHLA-endorsed certification, builds its content around fourteen subordinate topics. Those topics sit beneath two parent groups, and getting that structure straight matters because older or third-party material sometimes describes the outline loosely. The accurate picture is this: fourteen topics, two groups. The group headings themselves are not additional topics, so you should never count sixteen domains.
The two groups divide the field neatly:
- Markets and market segments covers the first seven topics, running from Introduction to Hospitality Marketing and Sales through Marketing to Special Segments. This is the "who are we selling to and why" half.
- Sales functions covers the final seven topics, running from Managing the Marketing and Sales Office through Marketing Catered Events and Meeting Rooms. This is the "how do we actually sell and operate" half.
If you are still orienting yourself to the credential itself, our explainers on what CHSP certification is and what CHSP stands for cover the basics, and they confirm the credential discussed here is the hospitality sales one. For a broader preparation roadmap, pair this domain breakdown with the CHSP study guide.
What the Exam Looks Like and What Is Not Published
Before diving into content, it helps to know the container those fourteen topics are tested in. The current global CHSP product specifies:
- 100 questions
- Two hours of testing time
- 70% passing score
- A required proctor, with delivery through ExamFlex online or print
Several details are simply not specified by the current product, and it is better to say so than to guess. The item format (for example, whether every question is multiple choice) is not specified, and older multiple-choice descriptions should not be treated as current verification. The scored versus unscored question split is undisclosed. The observed pass rate has not been published, which is why our CHSP pass rate article discusses what can and cannot be said rather than quoting a figure. Calculator rules, open-book rules, and detailed remote-proctor requirements also remain unverified, so confirm them directly with the issuer when you register.
For a deeper look at the cut score and how to think about it, see CHSP passing score, and for a candid view of difficulty, read how hard the CHSP exam is.
Group One: Markets and Market Segments (Topics 1-7)
The first group teaches you to think like a hotel or hospitality marketer: understand the business, build a plan, and then tailor your approach to each customer segment. These seven topics share a common thread. Each asks you to match a type of buyer with the right message, channel, and offer.
Domain 1: Introduction to Hospitality Marketing and Sales
Introduction to Hospitality Marketing and Sales
This opening topic establishes the vocabulary and mindset the rest of the exam builds on. Expect it to frame how marketing and sales differ, how they work together, and why hospitality products behave differently from physical goods.
- The distinction between marketing activities and sales activities
- Characteristics of hospitality as a service product, such as perishability of unsold inventory
- The role of the sales team within the broader property operation
- Core terminology you will see repeated in every later topic
Domain 2: The Marketing Plan: The Cornerstone of Sales
The Marketing Plan: The Cornerstone of Sales
The title signals how the issuer views this topic: everything else in sales flows from a sound plan. Candidates should be comfortable with how a property analyzes its situation, sets objectives, and allocates effort.
- Situation analysis, including understanding competitors and the property's own position
- Setting objectives and choosing strategies that support them
- Linking the plan to budgets, schedules, and measurable results
- How plan decisions cascade into segment-specific tactics later in the outline
Domain 3: Marketing to Business Travelers
Marketing to Business Travelers
Business travel is a core hospitality segment, and this topic examines what drives corporate buyers and individual road warriors to choose one property over another.
- How business travelers differ from leisure guests in needs and booking behavior
- Corporate account development and the role of negotiated arrangements
- Location, convenience, and amenity considerations that influence selection
- Building repeat business through relationships
Domain 4: Marketing to Leisure Travelers
Marketing to Leisure Travelers
Leisure demand behaves differently from corporate demand: it is often more price-sensitive, more seasonal, and more influenced by destination appeal and packaging.
- Motivations and decision patterns of leisure guests
- Packaging and promotional approaches suited to leisure demand
- How seasonality and day-of-week patterns shape leisure selling
- Contrasting leisure and business strategies, a favorite comparison style on exams
Domain 5: Marketing to Travel Agents
Marketing to Travel Agents
Intermediaries remain an important channel. This topic covers how properties work with travel agents and what those intermediaries need from a hotel partner.
- The role of travel agents as a distribution channel
- What agents look for in a property: information, reliability, and commissions
- Maintaining relationships and providing timely, accurate information
- How agent business fits alongside direct bookings
Domain 6: Marketing to Meeting Planners
Marketing to Meeting Planners
Group and meeting business can fill large blocks of rooms and generate significant food-and-beverage and function revenue. This topic focuses on the planner as the buyer and decision influencer.
- Types of meeting planners and what each type values
- How planners evaluate and select venues
- The sales process for group business, from inquiry to contract
- Connections to later topics on catered events and meeting rooms
Domain 7: Marketing to Special Segments
Marketing to Special Segments
The final topic in the first group is a catch-all for niche markets that do not fit neatly elsewhere. Expect it to test whether you can recognize a segment's distinct needs and adapt your approach.
- Identifying specialized or niche market segments
- Tailoring services, messaging, and sales channels to each
- Recognizing when a segment justifies dedicated effort versus general marketing
Key Takeaway
Topics 3 through 7 are really the same skill applied five times: identify the buyer, understand what they value, and shape the offer accordingly. Build one comparison grid for these segments and review it often; many scenario questions reduce to "which approach fits this buyer?"
Group Two: Sales Functions (Topics 8-14)
The second group shifts from audiences to execution. It covers running the sales office, handling reservations, pricing and inventory decisions, the mechanics of selling in person and by phone, aligning the whole property behind sales, and selling catered events and meeting space.
Domain 8: Managing the Marketing and Sales Office
Managing the Marketing and Sales Office
This topic treats the sales office as a functioning department that needs organization, direction, and accountability.
- Structuring roles and responsibilities within the sales team
- Planning, scheduling, and tracking sales activity
- Using records and reporting to monitor performance
- Coordinating the office's work with other departments
Domain 9: Reservations
Reservations
Reservations are where demand converts into booked revenue. Candidates should understand how the reservation function supports sales rather than treating it as clerical work.
- How reservation requests are taken, recorded, and confirmed
- The relationship between reservation handling and guest expectations
- Communication between reservations and the sales team
- Accuracy and follow-through as drivers of guest satisfaction
Domain 10: Revenue Management
Revenue Management
Revenue management is often the most conceptually demanding topic for candidates coming from pure sales backgrounds. It concerns balancing price and inventory against demand to maximize revenue.
- How demand patterns influence pricing and availability decisions
- The trade-offs between occupancy and rate
- How segment mix affects overall revenue results
- Why a decision that fills rooms is not always the one that earns the most
Domain 11: Personal Sales
Personal Sales
Face-to-face selling is the heart of the profession. This topic covers the stages of a sales interaction and the skills that move a prospect toward a decision.
- Preparing for and conducting a sales call or site visit
- Discovering needs through questions and listening
- Presenting benefits, handling objections, and closing
- Following up to secure and retain the business
Domain 12: Telephone Sales
Telephone Sales
Many inquiries still begin by phone, and this topic treats telephone selling as a distinct skill with its own techniques.
- Making a strong first impression without visual cues
- Structuring both inbound and outbound calls
- Qualifying callers and guiding the conversation toward a booking
- Documenting calls and following up
Domain 13: Internal Marketing and Sales
Internal Marketing and Sales
Selling does not stop at the sales office door. Internal marketing recognizes that employees across departments influence guest decisions and revenue, and that on-property merchandising matters.
- Engaging employees in the property's sales and service goals
- Upselling and suggestive selling opportunities within the property
- Communicating promotions and priorities internally
- Aligning departments so the guest experience reinforces the sales promise
Domain 14: Marketing Catered Events and Meeting Rooms
Marketing Catered Events and Meeting Rooms
The closing topic brings food, beverage, and function space into focus as revenue centers that deserve their own marketing effort.
- Positioning catering and meeting space to the right audiences
- Understanding what event clients expect from a venue
- Coordinating sales with banquet and event operations
- Connecting to the meeting-planner relationship from Domain 6
Quick-Reference Table of All 14 Topics
| # | Topic | Parent Group | Core Question It Answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Hospitality Marketing and Sales | Markets and market segments | What are marketing and sales in hospitality? |
| 2 | The Marketing Plan: The Cornerstone of Sales | Markets and market segments | How do we plan before we sell? |
| 3 | Marketing to Business Travelers | Markets and market segments | What do corporate buyers value? |
| 4 | Marketing to Leisure Travelers | Markets and market segments | What motivates leisure guests? |
| 5 | Marketing to Travel Agents | Markets and market segments | How do we work with intermediaries? |
| 6 | Marketing to Meeting Planners | Markets and market segments | How do planners choose venues? |
| 7 | Marketing to Special Segments | Markets and market segments | How do we serve niche markets? |
| 8 | Managing the Marketing and Sales Office | Sales functions | How is the sales department run? |
| 9 | Reservations | Sales functions | How does demand become booked business? |
| 10 | Revenue Management | Sales functions | How do price and inventory maximize revenue? |
| 11 | Personal Sales | Sales functions | How do we sell face to face? |
| 12 | Telephone Sales | Sales functions | How do we sell by phone? |
| 13 | Internal Marketing and Sales | Sales functions | How does the whole property support sales? |
| 14 | Marketing Catered Events and Meeting Rooms | Sales functions | How do we sell events and function space? |
Sequencing Your Study Around the Domains
Because no domain weights are published, the safest approach is balanced coverage. The issuer's self-paced review material runs approximately 40 hours, which describes study time rather than exam duration or a mandatory training minimum, so it is a useful planning anchor. Here is one way to distribute that effort across the fourteen topics, ordered so each week builds on the last:
Foundations: Domains 1-2
- Learn the vocabulary and the marketing-plan framework first, since every later topic assumes them
- Draft a one-page plan outline for a fictional property to make the concepts concrete
Individual Segments: Domains 3-5
- Build a comparison grid of business travelers, leisure travelers, and travel agents
- Note how needs, channels, and decision timing differ for each
Group Business: Domains 6-7 and 14
- Study meeting planners and special segments, then jump ahead to catered events while the planner mindset is fresh
- Trace one meeting from inquiry to function space
Operations and Numbers: Domains 8-10
- Cover office management, reservations, and revenue management together
- Spend extra time on occupancy-versus-rate trade-offs, which tend to be the least intuitive material
Selling Skills and Alignment: Domains 11-13
- Practice the stages of a sales call and a phone call aloud
- Review internal marketing as the bridge between sales and the rest of the property
Integration and Practice
- Take full-length practice sets from the main practice test site and sort misses by domain
- Revisit your weakest two topics before test day
Scheduling revenue management mid-plan, rather than at the very end, gives you time to revisit it. For a printable condensed review once you have worked through the domains, the CHSP cheat sheet is a good companion, and the CHSP training overview explains how formal courses fit alongside self-study.
Eligibility, Registration, and Renewal Mechanics
Knowing the domains is only half of the journey; you also have to be approved to sit for the exam. The current global issuer eligibility requires at least 50% of your duties in qualifying hospitality sales and six months in position. Two adjustments exist: a Supervisor, Manager, Department Head, or Executive Certification eliminates the time requirement, and an accredited academic degree eliminates the six months. These reductions do not waive the qualifying-duties requirement or application approval. No universal degree, experience-hour, training-hour, or reference-count requirement has been verified, and a provider's twelve-hour course is not a universal minimum. Our CHSP requirements article walks through qualification in more detail.
On cost, the current official application, online study guide, and exam bundle is USD $398. The member versus non-member split and any exam-only price are undisclosed, and the current retake fee remains unverified. The product allows two retake purchases within one year from application approval. See CHSP certification cost for the full pricing picture, and CHSP exam dates for scheduling considerations.
The credential is not permanent. It carries a five-year renewal with professional development, with a current official renewal fee of USD $102. Current issuer renewal guidance requires 50 recertification points within five years, and every five years thereafter. Those points are not automatically equivalent to CEU hours, and detailed evidence rules must follow the current issuer program, so check the issuer's guidance before you start logging activities.
Where the Domains Show Up on the Job
The fourteen topics map closely onto the daily work of hospitality sales roles. A sales manager at a hotel might spend a morning on a corporate account negotiation (Domain 3), an afternoon touring a meeting planner through function space (Domains 6 and 14), and the end of the day reviewing pricing and pace with a revenue manager (Domain 10). A director of sales ties it together through the marketing plan (Domain 2) and manages the team as described in Domain 8.
Employers for these skills include hotels and resorts, convention and event venues, and other hospitality businesses with group, catering, or corporate sales functions. For a view of roles and titles where this knowledge applies, see CHSP jobs. If you are weighing the investment, the CHSP salary guide and the analysis of whether CHSP certification is worth it discuss earnings and return qualitatively, since no verified salary statistics are published for this credential.
Key Takeaway
Treat each domain as a job skill, not a trivia list. When you can explain how you would use revenue management to decide whether to accept a discounted group, or how you would adapt a pitch for a travel agent versus a corporate buyer, you are studying at the right depth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fourteen subordinate topics, organized under two parent groups: Markets and market segments (the first seven topics) and Sales functions (the final seven). The group headings are not additional topics, so the count is fourteen, not sixteen.
No weights have been published. The fourteen headings are issuer-published competencies rather than an official weighted blueprint, and percentages, scored-question allocations, and a blueprint revision date are unpublished. Plan to study all fourteen topics rather than prioritizing by guessed weights.
The current global product specifies 100 questions, a two-hour exam, a 70% passing score, and a required proctor. The current item format and the scored versus unscored split are not specified, so confirm details with the issuer when you apply.
The current official application, online study guide, and exam bundle is USD $398. The product allows two retake purchases within one year from application approval, though the current retake fee is unverified. Renewal is USD $102 on a five-year cycle.
Start with Domains 1 and 2, Introduction to Hospitality Marketing and Sales and The Marketing Plan, because later topics assume that vocabulary and planning framework. Then work through the segments, and give revenue management extra time since its trade-off logic can feel less intuitive. Reinforce your progress with practice questions at the CHSP practice test site.